The CL&P rate hike

Customers who still get their electricity supply from CL&P got hit hard at the beginning of the year.

On January 1, 2015, electricity rates for CL&P supply customers skyrocketed from 9.990 cents to 12.629 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Why the CL&P supply rate jumped 26%

Twice a year, CL&P must buy electricity for its customers at auctions regulated by state law, which can be affected by market forces and factors like seasonal price swings. Whatever price they end up getting is what they have to charge. The last auction, , didn’t turn out so well for CL&P customers, as CL&P’s prices rose by 26%.

How can Spark Energy help me save money?

You don’t have to buy your electricity from CL&P. You can buy it from another Connecticut electricity provider in your area, such as Spark Energy.

Because we buy electricity at competitive prices throughout the year, we can offer most residential customers a lower rate than what you’re getting from CL&P when they are in a fixed-rate contract with us.

In fact, you can save anywhere from 5–25% off your current CL&P electricity supply charges if you sign up for a fixed-rate contract. Every time you flip a light switch or run your electric heater, you’re going to pay less.

Switching electricity providers is the smart choice for Connecticut residents who want to save money.

What changes when I sign up with Spark Energy?

Simply put, the only thing that changes when switching electricity providers is the company that sells you electricity.

Every customer’s bill is made up of two parts. The first part is the electricity supply charge. The second is the transmission and distribution charge.

Electricity supply charges are what you pay for electricity. You’re charged a set amount per kilowatt-hour.

You can choose to get electricity supply from CL&P or a retail electricity supplier like Spark Energy. You have the right to shop around for a supplier you like and get a better deal on electricity prices.

Transmission and distribution charges are what you pay to have electricity delivered to your home. CL&P will always handle the transmission and delivery of electricity. This includes maintaining poles and wires and responding to service calls, outages and emergencies. These charges are set by a federal commission and are based on how much electricity you use.

You don’t have a choice when it comes to transmission and delivery charges. CL&P will charge you the regulated rate regardless of where you get your electricity supply. You do, however, have a choice of who supplies your electricity.That’s where providers like Spark Energy come in.

Spark Energy: a Connecticut electricity provider you can trust

At Spark Energy, our retail electricity experts provide quality service and affordable electricity to hundreds of thousands of residential and commercial customers across the nation.

Over the years we’ve become recognized as one of the most trusted and dependable electricity providers in the country.

With Spark Energy, you get affordable electricity from a company you can trust.

spark energy is an alterntive to nstar that beats the rate hike

In case you missed it, NSTAR Electric and Gas raised the price of electricity by an average of 29% for residential customers. Don’t get gouged. If you’re an NSTAR supply customer, you can switch Boston electricity providers and avoid paying the higher rate as long as you’re on one of our fixed-rate plans. Switch to Spark Energy today and save 20% off your current NSTAR electricity supply charges while you’re on one of our fixed-rate plans. Guaranteed.*

The NSTAR rate hike

Some customers in Boston and Cape Cod still get their electricity supply from NSTAR. Those customers got hit hard on January 1, 2015, when electricity rates jumped from 9.375 cents per kilowatt-hour to 14.972 cents. This 29% leap makes it the most expensive supply rate NSTAR has charged since Massachusetts deregulated its electric utilities in 1998. As a result, the average monthly bill for Boston NSTAR customers is expected to rise from $95 to $123, based on a monthly usage of 1,000 kilowatt-hours.

Why did the NSTAR supply rate skyrocket 29% ?

Like other utilities, NSTAR buys electricity every six months at an auction regulated by state law. The price they get at auction is what they have to charge their supply customers. Energy prices are affected by market forces and seasonal price swings, such as natural gas prices. When you only buy electricity twice a year, you’re stuck with what you get.

Choose Spark Energy for an alternative to NSTAR and start saving money today

If you’re an NSTAR customer, you have the power to choose another Boston electricity provider for your electricity supply. At Spark Energy we’re free to purchase electricity year-round at competitive prices, unlike the utilities. As a result, we offer a lower rate than what you get from NSTAR with our fixed-rate plans. With a Spark Energy fixed-rate plan, you can save 20% off your NSTAR supply charges. Guaranteed.*

What changes when I switch to Spark Energy?

The only thing that changes when you sign up with Spark Energy is the company that sells you electricity.

two parts of your electricity bill

Your electricity bill has two charges: supply charges and transmission and distribution charges. Supply charges are what you pay for the electricity you use. NSTAR or another Boston electric provider can sell you electricity. You have choice when it comes to supply.Transmission and distribution charges are what you pay to have NSTAR deliver that electricity to your home, maintain poles and wires, and respond to service calls, outages and emergencies. The utility will provide these services, no matter who you buy your electricity from. You do not have choice when it comes to transmission and distribution.

Spark Energy is a trustworthy and dependable alternative to NSTAR

Utilities can be expensive electricity suppliers. That’s why hundreds of thousands of residential and commercial customers across the nation have turned to Spark Energy for affordable electricity. Our retail electricity experts and caring customer service teams have helped us earn recognition as one of the most dependable and trusted electricity providers in the country. Affordable electricity from a proven company you can trust is just a click away. You can obtain an information disclosure letter upon request by clicking here.

November 2014 Update: This scam is once again targeting customers in Texas. If you receive a call about your account that seems suspicious, please hang up without providing payment and contact Spark at 877-54-SPARK or via OOPCX@Sparkenergy.com

Electricity Payment Scam Targets Texas Consumers

A scam targeting Texas electricity consumers appears to be on the rise, and consumers throughout the state should be on the alert for suspicious calls. According to recent Houston area news reports, the fraudulent activity targets both residential and commercial electricity customers and has been increasing in frequency in recent weeks. The scam is especially concerning because it involves individuals posing as representatives of Spark Energy and other Texas retail energy providers in order to obtain consumer debit account numbers or payments via money order or prepaid debit cards. Once the information is taken by the caller, the energy company is not paid and the caller keeps the cash.

Be on the Alert

The scam centers around phone calls made to electricity consumers who are told their bill is past-due and their electricity will be disconnected if they don’t make immediate payment. Payment is demanded via money order or prepaid debit cards.

What Should You Do if You Receive a Suspicious Call?

Spark Energy does contact customers about their accounts, but you should be on alert if someone claiming to be from Spark Energy or a company working on our behalf asks you to pay in an unusual method such as money order or prepaid debit cards.

If you suspect you’re the target of a fraudulent call, hang up without providing any payment or identifying information to the caller. Spark Energy customer service is available at 877-54-SPARK to provide information about your account status. We encourage customers with any concerns to call us directly to confirm the identity of a caller before making payments.

Your home’s furnace, like any piece of machinery, needs regular maintenance to perform at its best. The most important routine maintenance you can perform on your furnace is changing or cleaning your furnace’s air filters when they get dirty. Not only can clogged or dirty air filters block air flow and cause your furnace to work harder to pump warm air throughout your house, but dirty air that gets past a filter can make its way into the fan section of the furnace and damage components.

Changing or cleaning your filters regularly will help you increase the efficiency and life expectancy of your furnace while helping you cut energy costs.

Types of Furnace Air Filters

There are a wide variety of air filters for gas, oil and electric furnaces. Many furnaces use basic panel filters or washable filters made of fiberglass, but these are the least effective at filtering particles, according to the American Lung Association. Other kinds of filters include pleated filters, high efficiency pleated filters, high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters and electronic air cleaners. Some filters, such as HEPA filters and electronic air cleaners, which use electrical fields to trap particles, do a great job of blocking dirt and germs, but can be a bit pricey. Ultimately, you should use a filter recommended by your furnace’s manufacturer and contact the manufacturer about the details of using other kinds of filters.

Location of Furnace Air Filters

Air filters for home furnaces — gas, oil, and electric — will typically be found along the length of the return duct, in a wall, ceiling, or even in the furnace itself. Sometimes they can be difficult to locate or hidden from view behind other equipment. Check your furnace manufacturer’s documentation for the designated filter location. If you don’t have your documentation, try going to the manufacturers’ website and downloading a copy of the documentation.

Most modern HVAC systems use return air filters right in the return air grill (the grill opening in your living space that sucks air in rather than blows it out) for easy access and maintenance. But if you have a different kind of system and are having a problem locating your furnace’s filter, start at the air handler and work your way back toward the return air grill opening.

Changing and Cleaning Furnace Air Filters

Disposable furnace filters will need to be changed every month or two during the heating season, or more often if you run your furnace a lot, smoke or have pets. For best performance, washable filters should be cleaned every two weeks, or even more frequently, by letting them soak for an hour in a tub or basin filled with a solution of one part water and one part vinegar. Washable filters should be changed out every three to six months, depending on how much you use your furnace or HVAC unit. Other kinds of filters will have their own specific maintenance instructions. Your furnace manufacturer will also likely have air filter maintenance instructions.

Spark Energy was on hand this week at the groundbreaking ceremony for the future home of Sergeant Ben Eberle. Sergeant Eberle was severely wounded while serving in Afghanistan in 2011 when an IED exploded, leaving him a triple amputee.

Sergeant Eberle was selected by Helping a Hero to receive a specially adapted home. As part of Spark Energy’s ongoing partnership with Helping a Hero, we were honored to present Eberle and his family with a year of free electricity for his new home.

“As our troops return home after making incredible sacrifices on our behalf, it’s important that they have the resources necessary to transition back into civilian life.” said Nathan Kroeker, President of Spark Energy.

The Eberles selected a wooded lot in Montogmery, TX for their future home. Ben, who enjoys ATVs and the outdoors, is excited to have land on which to ride ATVs and enjoy nature. Eberle thanked the community for their support and shared that he is looking forward to moving into his new home and beginning the stage of his recovery which will involve prosthetics to help him become more mobile. With courage and humor, he ended his remarks by commenting that “I can’t sit down for too long. It’s like the longest car ride ever.”

Houston-area residents can also donate to Helping a Hero with Spark Energy’s Power for Heroes electricity plan. Customers on this plan will see a portion of their bill donated to Helping a Hero at no cost to them.

When Pennsylvanians get new, energy-efficient refrigerators for their homes, old refrigerators often get relegated to a support role in garages or basements. After all, the old models still work, and they can be used to chill drinks and snacks for a basement game room or for bulk-purchased foods that homeowners hadn’t bought before because they lacked the space.

Some consumers like to use things — cars, televisions, home appliances — as long as they can because they take pride in making things last, and, besides, they reason, smart consumers get value for their purchases and don’t buy something if they don’t need it.

There are a lot of old refrigerators out there as a result of this philosophy, and many of them are 20, 30, or even 40 years old. In fact, there are more than 27 million pre-1993 refrigerators still in use, and about 26 percent of all U.S. homes have a second refrigerator, according to 2009 study by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Unfortunately, old refrigerators that keep on working are a big problem for consumers, as well as for utilities, which are trying to avoid having to build new power plants to handle the growing demand for electricity. Old refrigerators are terribly inefficient, and can use up to four times the amount of energy as a modern, energy-efficient model for the same amount of cooling. Hanging on to that old refrigerator costs consumers a lot of money — between $150 and $200 a year — and pulls a lot of electricity from power grids like the one owned by Pennsylvania utility PECO Energy Co.

PECO Helping Customers Save Energy

Thankfully, PECO’s new Smart Appliance Recycling program helps customers start saving energy and saving money on monthly bills by giving them $35 for their old refrigerators. The utility will even send a truck to pick it up and have it shipped to a “demanufacturing” facility in Hatfield that sucks out the harmful refrigerant for responsible disposal and prepares the 150 pounds of metal, 25 pounds of plastic, and 3 pounds of glass in an average refrigerator for recycling.

In its first year of operation, the facility has recycled 50,000 refrigerators with an average age of 22 years. Demanufacturing those refrigerators saved 85,000 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 7,000 homes for a year, according to Jaco Environmental, the company that runs the Hatfield facility.

So far, PECO’s Smart Appliance Recycling program has helped customers of the utility recycle 15,662 old refrigerators at the facility, which saved 27,000 megawatt-hours of electricity, the equivalent of planting 30,000 trees or taking 30 million miles of automobile driving off the books, according to PECO spokeswoman Cathy Engel.

PECO’s Smart Appliance Recycling program will also pay customers $35 to recycle freezers and $10 to recycle room air conditioners.

PECO Smart Appliance Recycling Program Requirements

There are several requirement that need to be met in order to qualify for PECO’s Smart Appliance Recycling Program:

Homeowners must be PECO customers

Refrigerator and freezer size must be between 10 and 30 cubic feet

Units must be empty and working when they are picked up

In order to be picked up, units must be accessible by the removal team by a clear and safe path

Commonwealth Edison Co. (ComEd) is wrapping up its $2 million electricity infrastructure improvement project in Northbrook, Ill., a project village officials said should help prevent the kind of power outages that overwhelmed Northbrook last summer.

Northbrook director of public works Kelly Hamill said that ComEd’s electricity infrastructure project has been designed to yield several improvements:

The installation of almost 10,000 feet of new overhead power lines — called Hendrix cables, which are designed to better withstand punishment from storms and, especially, from contact with falling tree limbs — should help prevent power outages by 75 percent

The relocation of the village’s mid-circuit recloser — an automatic switching device that helps minimize the number of customers affected by outages — to a more effective location near downtown

The replacement of underground cables in areas that are prone to outages

An increased tree trimming program to help prevent outages from falling limbs

A revised strategy for communicating with village officials during storms

Hamill said ComEd’s finishing touches involved switching power from the old lines to the new lines, transferring individual residential services to the new power lines and removing the old power lines.

The village’s mid-circuit recloser will be moved in late June or early July, Hamill said.

Philadelphia-based electricity utility PECO announced June 4 that it will be rewarding customers who buy electric vehicles (EVs) or invest in EV technologies.

As part of the PECO Smart Drive Rebates program, residential and business customers who let the utility know that they’ve purchased an EV will get $50 from the utility, per vehicle.

The reward program also encourages investment in EV technologies that can make getting around town easier for EV owners.

Government, institutional and non-profit customers who install Level 2 public EV charging stations in the utility’s area will get a $1,000 incentive per unit, up to two units, to help ease installation costs.

Counties in PECO’s area will get up to $3,000 if they install a Level 2 public charging station.

Evaluate the Type of Lighting You Use

Since lighting your home accounts for up to 10 percent of your monthly electricity bill, it's important to take a closer look at the type of lighting you use.

Incandescent Bulbs

Incandescent bulbs are cheapest, but you're going to go through a lot more of them. Additionally, incandescent bulbs are incredibly inefficient and do a far better job of producing heat than making light.

Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs)

CFLs can be four or five times the price of equivalent incandescent bulbs, but they can last eight times longer and use 75 percent less electricity to produce the same brightness. Drawbacks include environmental concerns — CFLs contain mercury — and shorter lifespans when turned on and off frequently and used in humid parts of the home, such as bathrooms. CFLs are also knocked by some for taking a short time to reach full brightness. Check out these tips for getting the most out of CFL bulbs.

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)

LED lights are clearly the future champ of home lighting. While they're the most expensive to buy, they consume 20 percent or less of the electricity used by incandescent bulbs and last up to 25 times longer — without any of the drawbacks associated with CFLs.

For more information, check out our post comparing the money-saving benefits of CFLs and LEDs.

Upgrade to Energy-Efficient Lighting Where You Can

Where you can, you should upgrade to energy efficient lighting. Not only will the bulbs pay for themselves in a short time — because you'll save electricity every time you turn on an energy-efficient bulb — but once the bulbs are paid for you'll start saving real money on your electricity bill. To make upgrading even more attractive, some utilities even offer retail discounts on energy-efficient bulbs to customers in their area.

When Shopping for Energy-Efficient Bulbs, Use Lumens, Not Watts

It's important to note that watts are not a measure of a light bulb's brightness. Instead, brightness is determined by something called lumens. When shopping for an equivalent CFL or LED, use the bulb's lumens rating – printed on the packaging – to find a similarly bright bulb.

Develop an Overall Lighting Strategy

There are certain things you can do to increase the lighting efficiency of your home that go beyond upgrading your light bulbs, like using more task lighting or using a brighter-colored paint for walls and ceilings.

The efficiency of your home’s air conditioning system, also known as heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) equipment, plays a critical role in your ability to cool your home and maintain your comfort during hot summer days while keeping electricity bills from breaking the bank. To help your AC system run as efficiently as possible, you’ll need to inspect your equipment, check for leaks in your ductwork and insulate your ducts.

Inspect Your HVAC Equipment

It’s important that you inspect your HVAC equipment at least once a year. Twice a year — once before summer and once before winter — is ideal. For a summertime checkup, you’ll want to focus on your AC system.

AC Air Filters

Checking air filters and changing them out when they’re dirty is the most important maintenance task you can perform for your AC system:

Clogged or dirty air filters restricts normal air flow, which can make your AC system work harder to cool your home

Dirt that bypasses an air filter can make its way to the evaporator coil where it can reduce the coil’s ability to absorb heat

Clean air filters can lower your energy consumption by 5–15 percent

For central AC systems, air filters are generally located somewhere along the return duct. Filter locations can include walls, ceilings, furnaces or the air conditioner itself. If you have a room air conditioner, the filter will be mounted in the grill facing into the room.

You should clean or replace your AC system’s air filters every month during the hottest summer months, when you run your AC a lot, and about every month or two during months in which you run your AC less frequently.

AC Coils

Your AC system’s evaporator coil and condenser coil will collect some dirt over time. Even if you change out your air filters regularly, the evaporator coil will eventually collect dirt over months and years of service. Dirt that does collect will reduce air flow and insulate the coil, which will in turn reduce the coil’s ability to absorb heat. Outside condenser coils can also become dirty over time, especially if the outdoor environment is dusty or you have a lot of foliage around your unit.

Fix problems by cleaning your evaporator coil once a year before peak summer months and keeping dirt and debris near your condenser coil to a minimum. For best results, keep the area around the condenser coil clear of debris and trim foliage back at least 2 feet to allow for adequate air flow.

Coil Fins

The aluminum fins on evaporator and condenser coils can bend easily when you’re cleaning the coils, which can result in blocked air flow. Make sure to take care when cleaning your coils and consider using a fin comb (supplied by AC wholesalers) to remove dirt from the coils.

Condensate Drains

To clean your condensate drain, which can clog with dirt and debris and prevent an efficient reduction in humidity, pass a stiff wire through the unit’s drain channels. For best results, clean your condensate drains every two months.

Checking for Duct Leaks

Leaky ducts can reduce the efficiency of the air flow through your AC system and can also introduce dirt to the air flow after air has already passed through the system’s air filters. The best way to find out if your air ducts are leaking is to inspect them for dirt streaks, especially near the seams. Dirt streaks indicate air leaks. Thankfully, you can seal them easily enough with duct mastic.

Insulating Air Ducts

Insulating air ducts is a good, affordable way to preserve cooled air as it passes through ducts, especially ducts that maneuver their way through uncooled parts of your home, like your attic. Insulated air ducts will also help maintain heated air as it passes through the ducts in the cold winter months. When insulating your air ducts, make sure to use insulation with an R-value of 6 or above.

Do-It-Yourself Home Energy Audits: Air Leaks, Insulation and Lighting

Make sure to read up on the other steps involved in a four-part DIY home energy audit:

There are four steps to a fairly comprehensive do-it-yourself home energy audit. Here are the other three parts, in case you need to review them or if you missed one earlier: